Memorial Day Thanks and Origin of Taps

[wyntrout]

Thanks and gratitude to all who served and are serving our great nation. Too many haven't a clue about the true costs of freedom or what freedom is. Those present and past who have served know this short, solemn piece of music and reverence.
I started a separate thread to present the origin... the real one, by one who should know, of this most reverent and final tribute for fallen comrades.
I, too, can't listen to its haunting notes without tears coming to my eyes. I've seen the forests of white headstones in Arlington and many sites in Europe. These pictures always come to mind when I hear this, as well as those of The Wall near the base of the Washington Monument.
Wynn

YouTube - Taps The Bugler's Cry-The Origin of Sounding Taps (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhtr5J00ntA&feature=related)

[aray]

Great links on taps, thanks.

I was involved in an important DoD support role in an armed conflict some time back. We had a military integree in the area and someone pointed out to me that in addition to his normal duties, he had been assigned to accompany the chaplain around to the local families once the bodies started returning home. I vowed right then & there that it didn't matter how hard I worked, I would do everything that I could to prevent him from doing his job.

Despite the stupid Hollywood stereotypes, nobody hates war more than the military. They're the ones that sacrifice the most - often with their lives. As the saying goes: freedom isn't free.

[kahrseye]

I went to an air show last year. It was unbelievable. The pride I felt for our military and our country was overwhelming. This is the greatest country on earth, thanks to those who serve and have served. Thanks to those who paid the ultimate price for the rest of us, it does not go unnoticed.

[aray]

For those of you who are not NRA members (and shame on you if you're not!) the following article and photo were posted in the December 2009 issue of "America's First Freedom". It was too good a photo & story not to reproduce here on Memorial Day weekend. Copyrights to the respective owners:

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"Abby Bennethum never thought her family picture would ever been seen by strangers, much less become a nationwide phenomenon. When she took the picture in July of this year, she was just hoping to catch a moment in time; her husband, Staff Sergeant Brett Bennethum, standing at attention and their 4-year old daughter Paige beside him, her tiny fingers clutching her father's hands."

"The photograph captures perfectly the sorrow and sense of loss that military families feel when a loved one and family member is deployed, but it also captures the honor, duty and responsibility those Americans in our armed forces display on a daily basis. For those of us who've never served in the military, it is a humbling photograph that serves to remind us of the sacrifices our armed forces and their families make to ensure our safety and freedom. I think the photograph also demonstrates the responsibilities that we have not just to our families, but to our nation."

"As far as I'm concerned, this photograph should win every "Picture of the Year" contest. I was thrilled to get a chance to talk with Abby Bennethum on "Cam & Company" not too long ago, and was even more pleased when Abby accepted my gift of NRA memberships for herself, her husband and their daughters."

"That small gift was just my way of saying "thank you" to a military family. This holiday season, I'd like to encourage you to find a way to say thank you to a military family you know."

[aray]

Despite the stupid Hollywood stereotypes, nobody hates war more than the military. They're the ones that sacrifice the most - often with their lives. As the saying goes: freedom isn't free.

There are many famous quotes from the Civil War. Among my favorites is one written by Private David L. Thompson, Company G, 9th N. Y. Volunteers at the Battle of Antietam - still the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. I love the way his description ends. It's amusing & sad all at the same time:

"We lay there till dusk,--- perhaps an hour, when the fighting ceased. During that hour, while the bullets snipped the leaves from a young locust-tree growing at the edge of the hollow and powdered us with the fragments, we had time to speculate on many things---among others, on the impatience with which men clamor, in dull times, to be led into a fight. We heard all through the war that the army "was eager to be led against the enemy." It must have been so, for truthful correspondents said so, and editors confirmed it. But when you came to hunt for this particular itch, it was always the next regiment that had it. The truth is, when bullets are whacking against tree-trunks and solid shot are cracking skulls like egg-shells, the consuming passion in the breast of the average man is to get out of the way."

With Burnside At Antietam (http://www.civilwarhome.com/burnsideatantietam.htm)

[jlottmc]

It's a good piece that one. I like learning of the origins of martial traditions, and of the history there with them. The Burnside at Antietam is spectacular and to see it in person gives a perspective that is missed otherwise of the true cost of Antietam in particular, and war on general.

[Ol'coot]

Here is a photo I made a few years ago as a tribute to all of our veterans past and present and especially to those that gave all of there tomorrows to keep us free and safe.

http://www.photographicendeavors.com/img/s4/v3/p316087469-5.jpg